


Interesting Times

by appending_fic



Series: Fire and Wonder [9]
Category: Coraline - All Media Types, Gravity Falls, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, ParaNorman (2012), The Princess and the Frog (2009)
Genre: Gen, Imprisonment, Psychological Torture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-03
Updated: 2017-04-07
Packaged: 2018-09-21 18:54:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9562181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/appending_fic/pseuds/appending_fic
Summary: Held captive by Desire, Tiana's granddaughter tries to find the leverage to escape and destroy the Chimera. Dr. Facilier, Desire's new puppet, is an unlikely ally, but the Chimera has complex plans to gather and destroy their enemies.





	1. Chapter 1

The climb was something of a chore. For one thing, the cat had taken a perch on Coraline's shoulders, requiring some care to keep it from falling off. For another, Discord had the attention span of a gnat, or at least delighted in tangents that allowed him to show off his reality-warping powers, _none of which were remotely helpful_.

"You know, you two seem knowledgeable, and powerful. Enough I bet you could take on Cipher, especially since he can't unmake you the way he did Santa Claus and all the other myths around here."

The cat and Discord exchanged a cautious look before Discord shrugged.

"Maybe. But it's...complicated."

"For one thing, seven on two's hardly fair," the cat explained. "And for another…" He trailed off, staring ahead. Coraline scowled, but looked away from her companions in case there was a monster up here.

There wasn't. There was, however, a gathering of stone buildings, ancient but still holding together by some miracle (and indeed, being on Mount Olympus, it might well have been). They weren't at the top of the mountain, but the air felt still, but charged. As if the whole world was waiting for something, silent.

"I don't suppose this is what we're looking for."

"Perhaps," the cat allowed. "But there's supposed to be a crossroads - or a threshold. Something to allow them-"

_Them_. _Vengeance_. The pieces fell together, and Coraline spun on Discord, nearly dislodging the cat in the process.

"You're looking for the Furies!"

Discord's grin didn't waved, but he did respond with a restrained clap of his hands. "I was wondering how long it would take you to find out. And knowing that, you can imagine why I'm not eager to bargain with creatures of the Law."

"And what about you, cat?"

The cat yawned. "When have you ever seen a cat do something they could get a human to do for them?"

"You really are the most infuriating creature." But Coraline approached the buildings without further comment, knowing she wouldn't win an argument against the Chimera _and_ the cat. There was nothing remarkable about the buildings, largely undecorated on the outside and filled with frescoes of cavorting gods and goddesses on the inside. But the anticipatory feeling in the air remained, so Coraline kept circling them, trying to find some hint of what the cat and Discord were looking for - a crossroads or a threshold. There was only one road here, no rivers, and she felt that the word threshold was meant to be something more impressive than the hole dividing an old building from the outside.

When it came to her, she nearly tripped, only keeping her balance by luck.

"This is it!" she exclaimed. "Olympus is the boundary between the mortal and immortal realm - this settlement is where they are."

"And yet they aren't here. It's just our luck they've gone to ground like everyone else."

_To ground_?

"Not _to_ ground," Coraline said triumphantly. " _Underground_. Come on, Discord, let's see if you can make yourself useful."

Inside the buildings, she set Discord to lifting up every stone he could, until they found a rock in the largest building that, when moved, revealed a long staircase delving deep into the earth.

"Ladies first," Discord allowed. "I learned that from my friends in Equestria."

"How generous," Coraline growled.

The trip, however, proved mundane, almost boring. They walked for a dozen minutes or so before a dim light resolved from the dark below, and a dozen more before they found the source.

A round table sat on a platform at the side of the stairs, which continued further down into the blackness. Three women - or creatures shaped like women - sat at it. They were, each of them, nightmarishly hideous. One, young and blond, served the other two tea - a matronly fat woman, and a spindly crone.

Coraline didn't need the cat's hissed guidance to know what to do here.

She curtseyed. "Greetings, Kindly Ones."

"Hello, Coraline."

"Discord."

"Cat. We've been waiting for you."


	2. Chapter 2

It was hard to hate the Miracle Man. Doctor Facilier might have done some terrible things, might have been the cog that set this whole dark world in motion, but.

He was a cog. Whatever he’d believed he’d have in the new world, he hadn’t got it. And he was more a prisoner than Tiana, who was at least free to think what she wanted. Desire had taken Facilier’s body as their own, wearing a golden arm in place of his lost one. And though the Chimera was certainly powerful enough to retain control, they allowed flashes of Facilier’s emotion to shine through, just enough to unnerve and remind Tiana that her family’s enemy was worse off than her.

It was something to think about at night, when Desire banished her from their presence to a cell - a comfortable one, with a narrow bed and private bath, but a cell nonetheless.

That and other things. She’d tried, a few times, to reach out. But gods and spirits alike had gone to ground; Tiana had heard enough to understand they were frightened of the Chimerae, and for good reason. But that didn’t mean she was helpless.

Admittedly, looking for opportunity seemed like doing nothing, but every moment spent paying attention to her surroundings gave Tiana a few more tools with which to eventually escape.

Preferably with Desire’s head on a spike.

A commotion down the hall heralded the arrival of Desire wearing Facilier’s body; they strode easily down the hall, pausing only briefly at Tiana’s cell. A wide smile bloomed on their face.

“Ah! You’ll be pleased to learn you’ll have company tonight.” Desire turned and sauntered into the cell next to Tiana, which was empty except when Desire decided to let Tiana and Facilier talk. They slammed the door behind them and sat on the bed. They took a few deep breaths; the monstrous form of the Chimera Desire clambered forward from Facilier’s body. The scene held for only a moment, and then Desire was…

Handsome. She was never able to describe him afterward, except that he was everything she’d ever wanted. Presumably because Desire wasn’t trying, Tiana wasn’t overwhelmed with passion, but it made focusing on anything but them difficult.

“... _Chere_?” Facilier asked blearily.

Desire stepped through the bars of the cell out into the hallway. They turned back to Tiana, smiling gently at her.

“I’ve got people to do, places to be, so...keep him from doing anything drastic.”

“...sure.”

Desire’s grin widened. “Ah, you’re a doll. Catch you later!”

The strange, pleasant distraction lasted for a few moments after they left. When Tiana glanced over at Facilier, he’d sort of slumped over.

“Doctor Facilier?” He didn’t respond. She bit her lip, considering. He'd never responded before, hunched over at times, hugging himself, or poking at his sink or bath, muttering and spitting. Despite his lack of response, Tiana had taken to talking to him when Desire abandoned him. She'd raged a lot, in the beginning, but as the fury gave over to pity, she'd been less furious. But no less confrontational. She couldn't help hoping (her grandmother Charlotte's influence) there was something in him worth reaching out to, so every moment Desire left them alone was a moment worth trying to pry some cooperation out of him.

“Is this what you thought it’d be like? Being ridden by a Chimera? Because I thought you went down the sorcery route so you wouldn’t have to let spirits take control of your body.” No answer. “I get it. When you realize you’re playing second fiddle to, well, a second fiddle, it takes a while to settle in. Might make a man a little depressed.”

Facilier was still silent; Tiana wasn’t sure if he was actually ignoring her, or if he was still dazed from Desire’s presence. 

And then there was the other possibility...that whatever was left of Doctor Facilier had lost his grip on reality. It would explain the muttering and the strange, repetitive rocking. Tiana stood and crossed to the bars, still some ten feet from Facilier. He was breathing evenly, but didn’t react to Tiana’s movement.

“When did you realize that you’d sold your soul for an eternity of bondage? That for all your talk of being one of the big boys, all you’d ever managed to do was to be another pawn?”

When that elicited no reply, Tiana dropped down to sit against the bars. She'd been trying for months to drag a response out of him, but was beginning to suspect it was a waste. Even if there was something left in there, there was too much antagonism between them, something she'd done little to help with her raging and taunting. He was as low as any man could be. She didn’t need to make him feel worse.

“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “That was uncalled for.”

A quiet chuckle echoed against the stone walls. “Oh, for all I’ve done to your kin, I think a little rudeness is entirely appropriate.”

Tiana felt a thrill through her chest at the confirmation she wasn't really alone here. Still, she shook her head. “It isn’t. I think...the time for old grudges is over. We don’t have the _luxury_ to fight amongst ourselves, not with the Chimerae running wild.”

“Making dreams come true.”

“Is that what you think you’re doing?” Tiana half-turned, glaring until she saw the look on Facilier’s face, mouth twisted and eyes downcast. “Doctor Facilier?”

“Just Doc will do.” He lifted his head, smile shifting to something a little more genuine, eyes wet and a little slanted from...regret? “My mother had high hopes for me.”

Tiana chuckled. “And here I always thought you made that name up.”

“It’s always best to make sure people don’t know what to believe.” Doc huffed, body slumping again. “I don’t think I can do this anymore. But I don’t know...what else I can do.”

“Fight Desire! Look for something in their head you can use-”

“Oh, child, you don’t understand anything. The Chimerae - they’re so much more than us. When Desire is in my head, all I can sense is...Desire.”

“It doesn’t sound that bad.”

“Doesn’t it? I don’t mean arousal, child, or just wanting something. The Chimerae are...consumed by the - the thing that they’re named for. And to feel that Desire...the infinite _wanting_ of things I can never have…” He shivered. “It _hurts_. Like when I was a kid and was lucky to have scraps, and knew I wanted something _more_.”

Tiana opened her mouth to reply - what, she wasn’t certain. But it was something of the teacher, the guide, the _mambo_ in the impulse.

Desire, however, returned with a bang, stone shattering as they stormed to Tiana’s cell. Their beauty had changed; it had been languorous before, but now they moved with sleek grace and a tall, lanky form with hard edges. Sexy in a strange, predatory way. They smiled at Tiana, teeth sharp like fangs.

“Your friends led me on quite a little chase, Tiana.”

“Friends?”

“The other witnesses.” Desire slipped through the bars, suddenly too close to Tiana. She scrambled to her feet, trying to back away. Desire chuckled, shaking their head. “They’ve been hunting down my brothers and sisters one by one, and now they’re coming for me. So I thought to, ah, be proactive. But your friends are tricky, very hard to find. I wonder if they might have gotten in the good graces of your _other_ friends. Any thoughts?”

Tiana shook her head. She wasn’t certain what to make of the possibility that spirits were talking, just not to her.

“Just as well. I’m sure I told you what happened the last time the spirits got involved in this fight. It didn’t even qualify as a rout. Cipher, he won’t stand for those petty little dreams to stand up to him.”

Desire had crowed about that before, how Cipher had wiped dozens of spirits out of existence with a thought. And in light of that, maybe it made sense no one would be willing to get close to Tiana. But it also raised other questions…

“Why doesn’t he have one of those funny little names? Desire? Delirium? Destiny?”

Desire’s smile twitched, but they turned away rather than answering, and Tiana knew she’d hit on something.

“You’re frightened of him, aren’t you? Why? What’s the thing that consumes him?”

“You forget your position, child. You are my prisoner, not my companion.”

“And what can you do if I don’t kowtow like a good prisoner? Kill me?”

Desire’s smile grew sharper, eyes glittering with amusement. “Oh, child. Didn’t Doc tell you? There are far worse things than death. Like, for instance, getting exactly what you want.”

What happened next was…

Not indescribable. But pretty far out there. Tiana had wanted things, of course. She’d even thought she’d wanted things so badly it hurt; the wait for Christmas had always seemed interminable.

But Doc had been right. There was a difference between merely wanting something, and the raw feeling of desire. There was an emptiness in Tiana’s chest, something that felt like a sucking wound, something hungry and insatiable.

She couldn’t focus, except on four words that wormed their way through her consciousness.

_What do you want_?

All of Africa was consumed by that question, and for a time, before the world had collapsed, others had travelled here in pursuit of it. Desire, like all Chimera, possessed some innate control over the nature of reality. Even if it seemed impossible, they could make one’s deepest desires reality. There was no limit to what they could do, but Tiana had rarely seen them do more than what the lesser brood could do when not tempting mortals. She'd come to suspect they could do little more than make people's dreams come true. It seemed a paltry power for one of the greatest Chimerae, until she remembered how the world had fallen apart. Desire had found the people that wanted the things they needed to open the door back into the world, and made them happen.

And when they wanted to find Tiana's friends, they came to her, someone lonely and desperate enough to want company more than anything.

But in that, they'd made a fatal error.

Tiana was no Buddhist, but she had practice in releasing her own desires, allowing other presences to override them with their own. Letting her heartbeat set the rhythm, Tiana lost herself in the sensation of formless Desire. It hurt, but she could almost imagine it was merely a dull ache.

Almost.

She was pretty sure she screamed.

A voice sliced through the desire. “Somebody _help her_!”

It was disheartening, realizing how Desire had managed to get on top again. The sharp stab of desire gave way to a distant ache, leaving Tiana panting flat on the ground as other sounds bounced around the hallways. She thought the voices might have been familiar, but it was difficult to focus. And then someone pulled Tiana up, a slender brunette girl, skin tanned brown from sun exposure, green eyes crinkled in concern. The girl looked vaguely familiar, but Tiana couldn’t place exactly where she’d seen her.

“You!” Tiana’s attention was drawn away from the girl by a wild-haired blond man with a metallic left arm lunging at Desire. The Chimera shifted into their natural form, the horned cat with a reptilian body and tail, and batted the man away from them.

But the man caught himself and leapt back at Desire. He ducked Desire’s swipe and slammed his metallic fist into the Chimera’s side. Desire actually let out a pained ‘oof’, though they didn’t shift their position, instead dropping lower and feinting before grabbing the man’s left arm and shoving him back.

The blond man flew back, hitting the wall with a dull thud. Desire, holding his left arm in their clutch, grinned and crushed the metal in one leonine paw.

“Now, I think that’s quite enough of _that_ ,” Desire growled, scrabbling forward toward the man. “You’re entirely irrational about this whole situation. I gave you everything you wanted; it’s hardly my fault what you wanted was horrible.”

Desire paused and abruptly turned, slapping away a dark-haired boy closer to Tiana’s own age. The boy had been sneaking up behind Desire, and the blow was strong enough to send his flying back as well. His head struck one of the walls, sending him slumping to the ground, unconscious or worse.

Another boy, pale and ethereal, kept his distance, allowing Desire to ignore him for Tiana and the other girl.

“I might have been a little nicer, Pines, if you hadn’t killed Despair,” they growled. “Death, Destruction, they’re big, dangerous bruisers. But Despair’s my _favorite_.”

The girl, Pines, scrambled back from Desire, eyes wide. “ _Killed_? We didn’t kill _anyone_!”

Desire’s feline face twisted into an impossible grin. “Well, I don’t think it would matter anyway; Bill wants you dead regardless.”

“I do hate to disappoint you, but people so rarely get what they want.” Doc was standing behind Desire, evidently having taken advantage of the Chimera’s distraction to sneak into position. As the Chimera started to turn, Doc grabbed their muzzle, forcing their mouth open, and forced a bottle of black fluid between their lips.

Desire swallowed reflexively, but almost immediately sputtered and knocked Doc away.

Even as they did so, however, Desire’s skin began paling, and their movement became jerky and pained.

“What - what are you-” They caught sight of the discarded bottle, and the black fluid within, and bared their teeth furiously. “Impossible! We _killed_ the Love God! How did you get one of his potions?”

“Do you think he’s the only one who has the knowing of potion-brewing?” Doc asked, smirking. “And did you think you could mess with Doctor Facilier without consequence?”

Desire began coughing, falling to one knee as they did so. “This won’t last. And when my power comes back-”

Doc pulled another small object from his pocket, a strangely-shaped rag doll. He smirked down at Desire, and ripped the doll open, tugging a small red bead from inside it. A glittering red light similarly darted out from Desire’s chest, hovering between Doc and the Chimera.

“Desire lives in the heart,” Doc murmured. “And leaving me alone so often, with nothing to focus on but my own fury, was unwise. Real magic is all about intention - the tools can be as crude as you like. And now-” He reached out, grasping his hand around the light. His body arched as he let out a pained gasp.

“Is he a good man?” the girl beside Tiana asked.

“What?” She glanced at the girl, whose lips were pursed, eyes furrowed in worry.

“Is he a good man? He’s stolen Desire’s power, and I need to know if he’s going to make trouble.”

And Tiana bit her lip, unsure how to answer. There had been something in Doc’s attitude that spoke of some wisdom gained in his time as Desire’s prisoner. But faced with the nigh-infinite power of the Chimerae, he might reject the lessons he’d learned.

“Doc? Doc, can you hear me?” She stepped forward, angling into Doc’s field of vision. “Doc?”

With apparent great effort, Doc straightened his back, and glanced at Tiana. His eyes all but glowed, an eldritch shade of green.

“It...hurts,” he whispered; Tiana winced at the memory of his own description, and of her own experiences. But the girl had the right idea.

“And you know how it works, don’t you? It’s insatiable, that desire. You told me yourself.”

Doc began shuddering, wrapping both arms around his middle. “It _hurts_!”

“Do you think we don’t understand? _Everyone_ wants something so bad it hurts! But you _know_ giving it to people just leads to sorrow!” Tiana found her fists clenching at her sides as she stepped forward. “Doc, Doctor, you know we’re not meant to get everything we want. But there are things we _need_.”

He looked up at Tiana, pained, teary eyes uncomprehending.

“We can’t be free of Desire, Doctor. But with the right word, a hand up at the right time, we can learn to want the right things, and see the path we need to get them.”

And slowly, Doc’s pained grimace shifted into a wide smile. “You’re right. I never got what I wanted. Not even what I needed. And yet here I am. The vanquisher of a god, a hero if I wish, or a villain if I desire.” And then his smile went feral and wild. “I think I will enjoy letting them see how little I think of their petty desires.”

Air displaced with a thunderous crack as Doc vanished.

The girl bolted to the brown-haired boy, fumbling for his wrist.

“They’re both alive,” the pale one said. 

The girl let out a relieved sigh and climbed to her feet. She glanced at Tiana and held out a hand. “Sorry about the lack of introduction. I’m Mabel.”

“Tiana. What about your friends?”

“I’m Kohaku,” the pale boy said. “That’s Norman,” he pointed at the dark-haired boy, “and Arthur.”

“You’re sure they’re fine?”

“Well, they’ve got concussions, I bet, but they’ll recover.”

“Good. I don’t know what Dipper would do if Norman died on my watch.” Mabel glanced back at Tiana. “You were talking a lot at the Miracle Man; do you think he’ll be better to have around than Desire?”

“I think...he’s spent too much time under other people’s thumbs to do that sort of thing to other people. And I think I convinced him Desire’s way of doing things is wrong. I don’t think he’ll be _nice_ , but I think...he’ll be okay.”

“Thank _goodness_.”

Arthur groaned, scrabbling ineffectively at the ground for a few moments before pushing himself up with one arm. He stood quickly, if awkwardly, when he caught sight of Desire’s slumped form. Swaying, he clenched the fist of his remaining arm.

“Don’t move!” he snapped.

“Doctor Facilier may have ripped my power out through my chest,” Desire coughed, “but I could still take you.” Wavering, they half-raised from the ground, fixing their gaze on Arthur.

“Yeah, don’t.” Mabel slipped in between the two, fixing Arthur with a stern glance. “They aren’t a threat anymore, so we’re going to leave them alone.”

“No way,” Arthur growled. “I traveled across the entire planet to get this jackass, and I’m going to make him pay for what he did!”

“You might want to, but you don’t need to.” Tiana slipped up next to Mabel. “Whatever they did to you, you need to know they can’t do it to anyone else. They’re not a danger anymore; you don’t want to become a killer over that.”

“A little late for that,” Desire murmured.

Arthur stiffened, hand twitching as he stared at Desire. But after a tense moment, he turned away.

“...Yeah. I think they’ll suffer enough just living without their power.”

“Well, isn’t this a sweet resolution.” They all started, shocked. Doctor Facilier was leaning against one of the walls, grinning widely. “Don’t get up; I’m just popping in between jobs. I forgot just how many self-important yahoos are out there. Now, you _need_ to deal with Destiny next; if you’re lucky, dealing with him will get you a little help going forward. So, in that vein, I got in touch with some of your friends to help you get over there.”

“We were actually planning on dealing with Delirium next-”

“Bad idea. She’s second to Cipher in power, and you need more help than you’ve got now to face her.”

“Anyway, who’ve you got who can get us across the Atlantic?”

Doc’s grin went wide and smug. “Who do you know who’s got a plane?”


	3. Chapter 3

“You absolute _bastard_ ,” Desire hissed, struggling in Bill’s grip. “If our mother knew about this-”

“But she’s dead, Desire. That’s the whole _point_!” Bill stretched out his taloned hand, showing off the razor tips. “There’s just us, and I think we’ve seen enough evidence to show the lot of you aren’t doing much to help me.”

“You’re getting rid of us because we’re _inconvenient_?”

“I’m getting rid of you because you’re a _liability_ ,” Bill snapped, tightening his grip around Desire’s throat. “You’ve already proven you can’t hold your own against a bunch of kids, and the last thing I need is them trying to use you as leverage against me.”

Desire tried to laugh, but instead just coughed against the pressure of Bill’s grip. “Only you would kill someone to keep your enemies from trying to use them against you.”

“Yeah,” Bill agreed. “That’s what make me a winner-” He ripped his talons into Desire’s chest, pulling them out with the other Chimera’s heart held delicately between the claws, “and makes you a corpse. Ciao!”

Bill dropped his sibling’s body on the ground, sparing it little more than a thought.

Honestly, the moron didn’t deserve to live if they thought Bill was just doing this to keep his enemies from using his siblings against him.

Among other things, it was a hell of a warm-up for when he got to rip the heart out of the Pines’ and all of their little friends.


	4. Chapter 4

Morty watched his grandfather Rick work in uneasy silence. A full bottle of Everclear sat untouched at one end of his bench, and Rick’s coat was soaked in oil, rather than vomit. He was certain his parents had noticed the change, but they seemed to take it as a welcome development.

“Grandpa-”

“Gotta keep it down, Morty. The thing is - see, we’ve got - a lot of bad shit’s going down. A lot of stuff. Bad stuff, Morty. We’ve been in a lot of bad spots before, Morty, but this is - this is the worst. The worst. And not - not the sort of thing where we can skip right over to a nearby dimension and hide out. Cause the problem is - it’s this guy - Cipher. He’s like - he’s got that thing where he can - can do anything. And he doesn’t adhere to - to the same ethical standards I do.”

Rick waved vaguely with a screwdriver before returning to work. Morty took the few moments of silence to run those last few words through his head.

“I - I’m not sure-”

“No. I - I’m certain, Morty. Cipher’s bad - bad news. It’s why I’m working on all these - this stuff. If push comes to shove, we’re all gonna need these. But that’s just - just insurance. I’m - I’m banking on that infinity-sided die to solve this problem. It can - can do anything, even get rid of Cipher. I figure Pines is smart enough to - to get it to do what he wants, instead of - of the infinite other things it could do.”


End file.
